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I’ve never liked the term “domestic violence.” I associate “domestic” with air travel, wine, and my home. For decades we’ve been creating softer, gentler language to define social problems. Culturally, we do this to distance ourselves from things we don’t want to imagine experiencing. In this manner, we invalidate the severity and importance of what […]

This week the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting warns that over the past decade, 13 Maine pharmacists were relicensed/reinstated despite documented histories of substance abuse and theft. These numbers seem disconcerting. They’re not. If we eliminate those convicted of theft without abusing substances, we’re talking about one professional a year. We should be more […]

It’s Sunday morning and I’m at the Bagel Central standing in a long line. The gentleman in front of me is talking politics and he’s looking to involve me in the conversation. I’m doing everything I can to avoid eye contact. He turns to me, makes a bit of small talk, then abruptly asks, “What […]

In my office hangs an Advertising Council public service ad from the late 60’s/early 70’s entitled “Diagram of a Drug Abuser.” It shows a very sketchy young man with arrows pointing to all the tell tale signs that he’s one of those bad, bad people who do drugs. It was outdated and ridiculous forty years […]

Lesser known fact about Sigmund Freud – early in his career he was all but laughed out of his field for suggesting that sexual abuse within families was a significant social problem. To remain respected he recanted his findings. Toward the end of his career he went back to his original claims and backed them […]